


Stubborn + Sick

by bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Sickfic, Team as Family, sick mac, stubborn mac, the team just wants to look out for mac
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 10:47:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14055288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid/pseuds/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid
Summary: http://superwhumpage.tumblr.com/ Requested:There are not enough sick Mac fics out there. Specifically important since Mac probably had to grow up taking care of himself a lot (I mean, let's be real, Grandpa was Grandpa and probably didn't have the maternal touch or the ability given his age to always take care of a sick kid). So Mac gets sick, tries to ignore it/take care of it on his own and the team has to swoop in to help (maybe after a collapsing episode at work or whatever).





	Stubborn + Sick

Mac groaned when his alarm clock went off. It felt like it was ringing directly inside of his skull. He saw up and was immediately overtaken by a rush of dizziness. He had started feeling bad yesterday, but he had hoped that these symptoms were the cause of long days and too little sleep. He had hoped that a good night’s rest would take care of them, but they were even worse this morning.

Mac knew that it meant he was getting sick. He also knew that he would feel crappy for a day or two and then the cold would go away. He’d been dealing with this since he was a little kid and knew exactly how to handle it.

Mac slowly got to his feet and made his way into his bathroom where he took some cold medicine. Then, he took a long, hot shower. He felt a bit better afterward. He still had a splitting headache and the world still tilted when he got up too fast, but he at least felt like he could function in a seemingly normal way.

“Hey, Boze,” Mac greeted his roommate when he went out into the kitchen. Bozer was making enough eggs to feed the whole Phoenix Foundation. Normally, Mac loved Bozer’s cooking, but at the moment, the smell made his stomach lurch.

“Good morning, Mac,” Bozer said and then he looked up, catching a glimpse of Mac. “Man, did you get any sleep last night? You look like you haven't slept a wink.” Bozer said with concern.

“Yeah, it's just going to take me a few nights to catch up, it’s been a rough couple of weeks,” Mac hedged, pouring himself a cup of coffee which he didn’t drink.

“Right it has brother, but did you see Matty’s text?” Bozer seemed satisfied with Mac’s answer as he turned back to his eggs.

“Um, no, I haven’t checked my phone yet,” Mac said, not mentioning that the bright screen didn’t seem appealing in his current condition.

“Well, she said that unless a matter of life and death pops up, we can have a day to chill at Phoenix and work on think tank stuff,” Bozer said. He filled a plate with eggs and set it in front of Mac.

“A chill day at the Phoenix sounds perfect,” Mac said, glad that he wouldn’t have to go out in the field.

“Exactly, now I’m going to shower and when I get back, I expect to see all of those eggs gone. You are looking too pale for my liking,” Bozer said.

“They smell delicious, thanks, Boze,” Mac said, giving him a smile. 

As soon as Bozer closed his bedroom door, Mac got up and dumped his eggs and his coffee down the garbage disposal. “Sorry Boze,” He whispered, feeling bad about wasting the food and Bozer’s hard work. But if he didn’t eat his eggs, Bozer would for sure know that he was sick and force him to stay home. The only thing worse than being sick was being sick and bored.

In the place of breakfast, Mac poured himself a big glass of orange juice. It was a habit that he’d developed after he began living with his grandpa. Every time he started to get sick, be it a cough or a runny nose, his grandfather would tell him to drink some orange juice. He was convinced that the vitamin C in it was a magic cure.

When Mac had gotten older, he’d learned that vitamin C does, in fact, help your immune system, but it isn’t really a substitute for medicine when you are sick. It helps keep you from getting sick, but once you’re there, a glass of orange juice really isn’t going to do much.

That being said, Mac continued to follow his grandpa’s instruction every time he got sick. As he got older, he learned that water, sleep, and some cold medicine did wonders, but he still drank that glass of juice to please his grandpa.

Now it was a habit and he actually craved orange juice whenever he got sick. As Mac drank the glass, he swore that he could practically hear his grandpa’s voice saying ‘you don’t look too good kid, make sure you have some orange juice with breakfast.’

Mac finished his juice and rinsed the glass out because orange juice would also tip Bozer off to what was happening.

“You ready bro?” Bozer asked, emerging from his bedroom.

“Yep,” Mac said, ignoring the pulsing in his head as he put on his leather jacket. It was going to be a long day.

*****

Bozer couldn’t help but keep glancing at Mac as they worked to improve their robot. They were working to give him the ability to walk and move on his own. The problem was, Mac seemed like he wasn’t fully into the task. Normally, he loved a day off to work on sparky, but today, his heart just didn’t seem into it.

“Mac…” Bozer started. “Are you okay?”

“Hmm?” Mac asked, seeming distracted. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Because you seem...off,” Bozer hedged. He knew how secretive Mac could be sometimes and he didn’t want him to get defensive.

“Bozer, I told you, I’m just tired. I think if we add this here we can give him a better range of motion.” Mac said, not even looking up from the robot.

“Yeah, okay,” Bozer said, deciding to drop the subject for the time being. It was clear that Mac wasn’t going to be forthcoming, and Bozer knew from experience that no amount of pestering would get him to talk.

They worked on the robot for a couple hours until they were interrupted by Jack.

“What up nerds?” He called as he came into the lab. Jack saw what they were working on and froze in his tracks.

“Oh, don’t start with the robot stuff again,” Mac said, looking at Jack’s expression.

“Yeah, I thought you and sparky bonded on your road trip. The one where you made him into a drunk frat boy,” Bozer added.

“We did...bond. But then you had to go an reprogram him and now you are making him mobile. I don’t care how nice a robot is, we shouldn’t give it the ability to move,” Jack said. He took a few steps closer to their lab bench, but still kept his distance.

“What do you want Jack?” Mac asked with a tired sigh.

“I just came down to tell you, workaholics, that it’s lunchtime. Matty bought us subs from that great sandwich shop nearby.”

“Yes, I love that place. Come on let’s go before all of the turkey gets taken,” Bozer said. Standing up and taking off his lab coat.

“You guys go ahead, I just want to finish this one thing up,” Mac said, still focused on the robot.

“Dude, come on, you love these subs,” Jack protested.

“Save me a ham, I’ll be up in a little bit,” Mac spoke in the stubborn tone of voice that he used whenever there was no use arguing with him. Jack exchanged a look with Bozer who shrugged helplessly.

“Okay fine, but if you aren’t done by the time I finish my lunch, I’m bringing yours to you and forcing you to take a break,” Jack said and Mac spared him a couple second glance to gauge how serious he was.

“Deal,” Mac said, apparently deciding that Jack was just as stubborn as he was. Bozer thought that it was a good thing that these two were partnered with each other.

“See you in a few, bud,” Jack said and Mac, who’d already gone back to the robot, gave them an absent-minded goodbye.

As soon as Bozer and Jack walked out of the lab, Jack asked what was wrong with Mac. Bozer gave a heavy sigh and voiced his concerns.

“I think he’s sick.”

“Sick? What do you mean sick?” Jack asked in alarm. He stopped walking and looked like he was about to bolt back to the lab.

“Chill dude, I mean like he has a cold or something. It’s not a big deal, he gets sick occasionally, but it goes away within a couple of days,” Bozer could remember every frustrating time that Mac had gotten sick, mostly because his roommate wouldn’t ever let him take care of him.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him sick before,” Jack mused as he started walking toward the elevator again.

“I’m sure you have, he’s just good at hiding it,” Bozer said wryly.

“And I’m guessing that there is no way we can get him to go home and rest,” Jack said.

“If only.”

“Well, I’ll at least bring him some food and make sure that he eats some of it,” Jack decided.

“Good luck with that,” Bozer called over his shoulder as he practically ran towards the subs. Later that night, he would make Mac some of his grandmother’s chicken noodle soup, but for the moment, he would leave the failed attempts of caregiving to Jack.

*****

Mac rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve some of the ache that seemed to have settled all over his body. That was probably a sign that he’d been sitting in the same position for too long.

With a sigh, Mac stood up. His vision went hazy for a few seconds as dizziness overtook him. Mac just barely managed to grab onto the table to keep himself upright. Mac took several deep breaths and the world slowly stopped spinning.

He was hot and sweaty so he took off his lab coat and rolled up his sleeves. He wondered if there was something wrong with the heating system at the Phoenix before realizing that it was possible that he had a fever.

It was also possible that this time he had a bit more than just a cold.

*****

Jack headed back downstairs with two sandwiches in his hands. Bozer had said that Mac often didn’t eat enough when he was sick, so Jack was intending to remedy that.

When Jack walked into the lab, Mac was sitting on his stool and staring into space. Jack went up next to him and put the sandwiches on the table.

“Hey, brother, you okay?” Jack asked softly, but Mac still jumped at his words.

“Jack, I didn’t realize you were there,” Mac said with a small smile that did nothing to ease the worry inside of Jack.

“Yeah, you seemed pretty stuck inside that head of yours. Here, take a break,” Jack said, putting the sandwich in front of Mac.

“Okay, I just have to get…” Mac's voice trailed off when he stood up. He took one faltering step, and then his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed.

Jack was close enough to be able to lunge forward and catch Mac before he could hit the ground. Jack gently lay Mac on his back and checked for his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he found it beating steadily. Jack could feel the heat coming from Mac’s skin and he saw that Mac’s face was flushed and sweaty.

Mac’s eyelids fluttered and Jack moved his hand to Mac’s cheek.

“Hey there, buddy, you with me?” He said gently. Mac groaned and opened his eyes up fully. “Hey kid, you passed out. You’re in the lab,” Jack explained. At his words, Mac looked around and then attempted to sit up. Jack easily pushed him back down. “Mac, I’m pretty sure you are sick, so we are going to get medical down here to check you out and then you are going to do whatever they tell you.”

“I just got a bit lightheaded,” Mac protested, but he didn’t try to push against Jack’s hand on his shoulder.

“I’d say more than a bit,” Jack said. “Stay,” He ordered as he stood up and walked over to the nearest phone and dialed the extension for medical. He heard Mac mutter something about not being a dog, but Jack ignored him. “Hi yes, I have a sick agent who just passed out...he’s awake now...lab 3...MacGyver…” Jack couldn’t help but smile when the person on the other end groaned at the sound of Mac’s name. He had an unfortunate but well-deserved reputation among the Phoenix Foundation’s medical team.

Jack hung up the phone and saw that while he was distracted, Mac had sat up and was now leaning back against the table. Jack supposed that he should be glad Mac hadn’t tried standing back up. With a sigh, Jack lowered himself down to sit next to Mac.

“What’s up Mac?” He asked softly.

“It’s just a cold, I thought I had a handle on it,” Mac mumbled.

“I think it’s more than a cold and that’s probably why you didn’t have a handle on it,” Jack said and he could tell from Mac’s expression that he agreed with him.

“It’s probably the flu. The symptoms came on faster than normal and regular colds don’t usually involve fevers,” Mac said dully. Jack was impressed with how much thought he’d put into it considering how awful he must be feeling.

Just as Jack was about to give Mac another lecture about letting him know when something was wrong, the medic showed up and saved Mac.

Jack gave Mac a reassuring squeeze on the arm and then stepped out of the room to give him some privacy. He got out his cell phone to update Matty on the situation.

“Jack, what’s going on? I just got an alert that a medic was called down to the lab for MacGyver,” Matty said immediately.

“Yeah, he’s okay Matty. He’s sick and got dizzy when he stood up and passed out on me,” Jack said. “The medic is checking him over now, but Mac thinks he has the flu and in my experience, he’s usually right.” Jack heard a small sigh from the other end as Matty absorbed the information.

“Alright, as soon as he gets cleared to leave, I want you to take him home. You guys have the rest of the day today and tomorrow off,” Matty said decisively. "After that, we can see how Mac's feeling and I'll give him more time if he needs it."

“Thanks, Matty,” Jack said and then hung up the phone. He was glad that Matty had given him time off as well. They all knew that the only way that Mac would stay home was if someone was there to force him.

“Jack!” A voice called and he turned to see Bozer and Riley exiting the elevator. Jack hurried to meet them, wanting to keep them out of the view of Mac who would hate all of the fuss.

“He’s alright,” Jack reassured them.

“They said that he passed out?” Bozer questioned anxiously, his gaze fixed on the lab door behind Jack.

“Briefly, but he’s okay Boze, really. The doc’s checking him out right now just to be sure,” Jack said, putting a comforting hand on Bozer’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong with him?” Riley asked. Her worry was less apparent than Bozer’s, but Jack knew her well enough to be able to see that it was there.

“Mac thinks it’s the flu,” Jack said.

“Man, I knew he was sick. I should’ve said something or done something. I should have checked the orange juice this morning,” Bozer said in frustration. Riley and Jack exchanged a look at the orange juice thing but decided not to touch that for the moment.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference Bozer,” Jack said.

“Yeah, Mac does his own thing,” Riley added.

“All set,” The medic said as she exited the lab. “He said I could share my diagnosis with you all since you would just pester him until he told you. And those are his words, not mine.”

“So what’s the word Doc?” Jack asked.

“Well, just as Mr. MacGyver kept repeating throughout my examination, I believe he has the flu,” She said with a wry smile.

“What’s the treatment for that?” Bozer questioned.

“Lots of sleep and lots of fluids. He can take some ibuprofen for his fever and pain. We sometimes put people with the flu on antibiotics, but…”

“He refused,” Jack finished for her, knowing that Mac wouldn’t want to take any more medicine than necessary.

“Yes, please make sure he rests. He won’t feel completely better for at least a week, but his more severe symptoms should lessen in a few days. If they don’t please let me know,” The medic said. She smiled when they all nodded.

“You’ve got it Doc,” Riley said. 

“Matty gave us all tomorrow off so we can take care of Mac in shifts,” Bozer added.The medic seemed satisfied and headed back to medical while the three of them headed into the lab. Mac was seated on his stool once more. He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a water bottle in his hand. Even with the blanket, Jack could see him shivering slightly.

“I was right,” Mac said. The bravado that normally accompanied those words was absent.

“Yeah, you were, brother. Now let’s get you home,” Jack said, moving close to Mac. He knew that he was probably invading his personal space, but he needed to be close in case Mac decided to pass out again.

“Okay,” Mac said. The fact that he hadn’t argued with Jack was slightly alarming. Mac threw off the blanket and stood up slowly. He seemed slightly unsteady, but he remained conscious so Jack decided that was progress. Bozer came over and wrapped the blanket back around Mac.

“Mac, keep this on, you’re shivering,” Bozer said. Bozer kept an arm around Mac as they made their way out to their cars. Mac was quiet as he allowed himself to be guided. Jack knew that Mac had to be feeling especially awful to allow Bozer’s mother-henning.

The drove to Mac’s house and tried to put Mac right into bed, but he protested. Jack was almost glad that Mac was arguing with them because it made him seem more like himself. They finally got him to agree to lie down on the couch as long as they agreed to let him watch a movie. Jack hoped that Mac would fall asleep while watching the movie.

Bozer got Mac more blankets and pillows than one person could ever need. Riley helped Mac pick out a movie. And Jack went about finding some ibuprofen. 

He found a bottle in Bozer’s medicine cabinet and then went into the kitchen to fill up a glass of water. The glass was only half full when Bozer grabbed it out of his hands and dumped out the water.

“Bozer, what the hell man?” Jack asked in surprise.

“Orange juice,” Bozer said simply, going to the fridge and taking a container out.

“What is the deal with the orange juice?” Jack asked as Bozer handed the now full glass back to him.

“Yeah, I’d like to know that one too,” Riley said from the living room. Jack and Bozer joined her and Mac in the living room. Mac struggled to get an arm out of his blanket cocoon. Once he had one free, he took the pills and then the orange juice.

“It was an old superstition that my grandfather had,” Mac explained, settling back onto the couch. “He wasn’t exactly…” Mac paused, clearly trying to find the right words.

“Nurturing,” Bozer provided. “Your grandpa was a great man Mac, but I know he wasn’t the type to kiss a skinned knee to make it feel better.”

“Yes, Bozer’s right. His philosophy was always ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger’. So, whenever I got sick as a kid, he would tell me to drink a glass of orange juice and go to school,” Mac said. He snuggled down further into the blankets and let his eyes close for a few moments, completely oblivious to the looks of pain on Jack and Riley’s faces. Jack remembered how much love and care his parents always poured over him when he was sick, and he knew that Riley’s mom was the same way. Jack himself had even nursed Riley back to health a few times. 

Jack felt a swell of pity for the young MacGyver who was essentially told to suck it up and deal with it. That certainly explained why Mac was never one to share when he was sick, he wasn’t used to having people who would look after him. Mac opened back up his eyes, finally noticing the silence that had fallen after his words. Jack tried to put on a neutral expression, but he knew Mac saw right through it.

“That must’ve been hard on you,” Jack said finally.

“Clearly I survived. And it wasn’t like my grandpa was negligent, if it ever turned into a real sickness, he would take me to the doctors,” Mac said, getting defensive.

“Jack wasn’t blaming your grandpa, Mac,” Bozer said quickly. “It’s just the rest of us were given soup and medicine and fussing when we were sick and you were given orange juice.”

“My grandpa did the best he could,” Mac again jumped in to defend his grandfather. The poor kid was sick and looked exhausted, but his eyes still held defiance.

“We know Mac…” Jack trailed off because he knew this line of conversation was pointless. “Look, the important thing is that now you have an entire extended family to take care of you when you are sick. So please no more chugging orange juice in secret?”

“Deal,” Mac said. Jack took the now empty orange juice glass and brought it into the kitchen where he rinsed it out and filled it back up with water.

“You need water too, so drink this while Riley starts the movie,” Jack handed the glass to Mac. After Mac had finished the water, Jack put the back of his hand on Mac’s forehead. Mac didn’t pull away from his touch so Jack counted that as a win. Mac was definitely still warm, but it wasn’t any worse, plus he had so many blankets on, Jack would be surprised if he wasn’t warm. “You let me know if you start to get overheated,” Jack said.

“Mhmm,” Mac muttered sleepily. Jack was really hoping that he fell asleep soon. Mac was too stubborn to admit it, but he was clearly exhausted. Jack, Bozer, and Riley settled in for the movie and pretended not to notice Mac’s heavy eyelids.

Jack couldn’t help but smile when 10 minutes into the movie a soft snoring filled the air.


End file.
